- Lesley Riley’s New Book
When I started this blog, I never really thought about doing reviews, but Lesley Riley’s new book has made me to want to share. Fabulous Fabric Art with Lutradur is the book I would have asked for if I had really thought about it. My friend Judy Gula of Artistic Artifacts has been talking about Lutradur for a while and I’ve been reading about it on the pages of Quilting Arts magazine. In fact, Laura Cater-Woods talked about it in class last year. Well, hearing about it wasn’t enough; I wanted to know more.
That’s where Lesley’s new book comes in. She starts out by telling you about Lutradur — what it is, how it’s made, and why it’s so special. Then she describes 27 things you can do with Lutradur from adding color and pattern (think of the fun things you can do with paint, inks, and dyes), screening and printing, glueing and fusing, needle felting, and even using heat to cut and distort it.
After the techniques, Lesley shares a broad array of projects made by a variety of fiber artists. There’s a project for every taste and temperament, incorporating the techniques in the earlier section of the book. Want to stamp and stencil? It’s in there. Want to create three-dimensional objects with Lutradur? It’s in there. It’s all in there. I can’t wait to try some of these wonderful ideas.
And she makes a suggestion that I really appreciate: she says to pick a new technique for which you already have the tools and try it on one of the pieces of Lutradur included in the back of the book. Yup! The book includes one sheet each of two different weights of Lutradur. And so once you’ve bought the book, you can actually play with the Lutradur without any additional purchases.
Even with the Lutradur in the book, you’ll eventually want more. I recommend visiting Artistic Artifacts’ website for either the 70g- or 100g-weight fiber. To buy the book, visit the Favorite Things page on my website and follow the link. The book is also available from Artistic Artifacts (in person in Alexandria, VA, or online) and the Quilt Patch in Fairfax, VA.
Have some fun with this new mystery fiber. And send me pictures of what you do! I’d love to see it.
My middle name is actually an aconym for Energetically Goes and Gets Everything, so of course I had to buy this book, what with the two free sheets of Lutradur and all.
The techniques and information in this book are complex. I must say I’d drive to the other side of the beltway to take a class on this. Leslie, are ya listenin’?
Susan, talk with Judy at Artistic Artifacts. That would be a great place for a workshop with Lesley. Judy, are you listening?